Barry Bonds Home Run Record - Free And Clear

The home run has always been special to the baseball fan and considered the highlight of many a game. To hold the title the Homerun King is the ultimate in many a professional hitterís mind. It was so for Barry Bonds, who began his career in the major leagues in 1986 with the Pittsburgh Pirates and retired in 2007 from the San Francisco Giants. Not however before he broke Hank Aaronís homerun record of 755 and he retired with 762 homeruns.

Barry Bonds has an undeniable talent for baseball and hitting. Even in his rookie days when he was slender and lean muscled his talent stood out and from 1986 until 1990 his homerun average per times at bat was solid at 1:16 one homerun for every 16 times at bat. He has talent and that is not anything to sneeze at. However from the year 2000 onward Barry Bonds became a homerun machine and at the age of 36, when other pro baseball players are hanging starting to think about hanging up their bats and are past their prime, Barry Bonds took off like a shot with an average of 1 homerun to every 8 times at bat. In 2007, Barry Bonds broke the long-standing homerun record by Hank Aaron and ended the season with 762 lifetime homeruns at the age of 43. The cloud of the Balco scandal hung about the record of this astonishing athlete, and his sudden mid-life boost further fueled the fire.

Barry Bonds has steadfastly denied that he knowingly used performance-enhancing drugs. However, as most athletes involved in the steroid scandals sweeping the denial is standard. Whether you believe he knew he took performance-enhancing drugs or whether he simply put drops under his tongue and put cream on, not knowing what substances they contained, the fact remains he did indeed break the long-standing home run record. He was indeed awarded the MPV award an unbelievable seven times during his career and his accomplishments are outstanding.

His achievements may be under a cloud of suspicion and accusation, and the question now is not whether he took HGH and steroids but if he knew what they were, what he accomplished is still outstanding. Fans stand divided on the guilt or innocence and baseball sorely needs a great name who can achieve those heights unaided as Hank Aaron did, but he holds the record no matter how you look at it.

Barry Bondsí perjury trial drags on, but the outcome does not matter Barry Bondsí homerun record holds, and he still has the most lifetime homerun to his credit. It is not an accomplishment that can be undone no matter the circumstances but how we honor him for it is a matter still under debate by fans. As we look to the future of baseball, we can hope that there will come a time when an athlete can honestly and without chemical aids break that record. This is not to pass judgment on Barry Bondsí guilt or innocent in the matter of steroids, but instead to say that the overwhelming majority of baseball fans want a hero above reproach.